" Name That Bass " aka "This OLD Bass"

[Eric Swanson]

Dear God, that is a beautiful bass.

Congratulations, Ken, on having the faith and vision to make this happen.

I hope that playing it gives you many hours of joy.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Eric Swanson

Dear God, that is a beautiful bass.

Congratulations, Ken, on having the faith and vision to make this happen.

I hope that playing it gives you many hours of joy.

I should know in a day or so if I have my booth/room set for the June ISB. If so and all goes well with Jeff's work, 'Big Ben' will be on display at the Show along with a few of my other Basses that are fully restored and sale-ready.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

I should know in a day or so if I have my booth/room set for the June ISB. If so and all goes well with Jeff's work, 'Big Ben' will be on display at the Show along with a few of my other Basses that are fully restored and sale-ready.

'Big Ben' is sitting in the rack a few feet from my desk. I picked it up Saturday and even stopped by Arnold's to show him the Bass as well. My Evah's were there to be put on my Lott model Bass after the Extension but that job was put on hold so I put them on 'Big Ben' instead and used ones of Arnold's benches while he touched up my modern Lott Bass which is now ready for the ISB as well.

Big Ben, aka Gamba Supreme will be at the ISB. It's a Bass NOT to miss! Trust me on that. The sound is in the class of my attributed Storioni. An Organ with Strings on it!

The C-Extension came out beautifully as well so a big thanks to Jeff Bollbach who also did a few tweaks on the Bass to say the least. "Dr. Arnold" had the last word as I had him look it over just in case he had any thoughts of his own.

This is a Bass I could keep and use for everything short of a tight spaced Pit job as she does have some girth on her to contend with, upper and lower. She measures about 60"-48"-86" in case you were thinking of taking her out for a spin..

[Ken Smith]

Ok, I am back from the Show now a few days and recovering from the long hours I have been putting in over the last few weeks between my two branches of the business, the DB's and the Smith products.

Big Ben as we now call it (or is it Gamba Supreme? I forgot..) was a HIT at the ISB. Everyone who played it stopped after a few notes or just after the 'A' sting and paused before continuing. I was told by many people that it was the best Bass at the ISB. Just about every dealer came over to check it out as well after hearing all the talk about it.

Several of them examined the bass carefully trying to figure out what it was. They all were puzzled and said things like, 'I'm not sure", "Very difficult, very..", I'll have to think about it", "ENGLISH".. the usual call and then I heard one dealer whisper to another, "Gagliano?"...

So, even after several first hand looks at it, we are about where we started some 5+ years ago. The Bass even has some old Mittenwald qualities to it but we are not sure what exactly is original on the bass as well as the lower bout shape which one dealer/maker thought it could have been cut down even in that area as well as the outer Bouts which do not have any purfling left either.

So, she is big, she it powerful, she is beautiful, sweet sounding, colorful and complex sounding and she's big.. I said big twice, I know.. lol

What is it? A big and quality sounding bass that is actually fairly easy to play. One of the European pros performing at the ISB mentioned that it's a very special bass as fat as good basses go and was playing on it as if it was a solo bass hitting the high harmonics and double stops with the greatest of ease.

I was told by two pros there giving me separate informal private lessons in the booth that I needed to pick ONE bass and play it. Part of my problem in playing is that I switch back and forth between basses which have different lengths and measurements making hand position training impossible. Maybe I should just play this one and leave the others in the rack just for sale. In NYC when I made my living playing bass, I used one instrument primarily for about 15 years. Maybe that's what I really need to do again. Play only one bass for the most part, practicing and performing. Sitting, standing, classical or jazz, whatever. Just one main bass..

This was the second old bass I bought this time around when I started playing again about 8 years ago. The Batchelder was the first and that was just sold. My intention was to have this fixed and use it for myself. Sounds like I should stick with that original plan. These other basses I have been buying for my hobby/business has become such a distraction....

[Joel Larsson]

I am happy about your successful restoration and the pride you seem to feel towards this bass. It doesn't sound like using this one as a main bass would be a bad idea, does it..?
You should allow yourself to have a special relationship to your main bass, that's my opinion. Despite owning at least one da Salo and countless other excellent instruments, and having to sell off almost everything he owned in times of financial difficulty, Bottesini kept his Testore to the end. You certainly seem to have a less "professional" approach to this instrument already! And just imagine what the BB might sound like after it's had some time to break in and open up..! How about you go for it??

[Phil Maneri]

I agree with the one bass for everything, it's an approach I've been taking since buying my #1 bass. Even taking it places I "shouldn't" like outside. I find that I really just want to play that bass for everything regardless of the circumstances. It's the dancing partner and I learn more about her as we become really acquainted.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Phil Maneri

I agree with the one bass for everything, it's an approach I've been taking since buying my #1 bass. Even taking it places I "shouldn't" like outside. I find that I really just want to play that bass for everything regardless of the circumstances. It's the dancing partner and I learn more about her as we become really acquainted.

For some reason, I keep going back to the Martini. Ever since the last restoration with a slight modification done to the Back as well, the Bass has been sounding better and better.

A few days ago someone was playing the Basses for me and me for him, testing them for an Orchestra client. The Gilkes(Jilkes) sounded huge as usual, the Big Gamba was a bit bigger sounding and deeper but the Martini was within 90% of the other two in power (closer than usual) and the tone was the best overall. The G and D were the biggest sounding on the Martini over the other two. The Gilkes is fairly even and the Gamba very bottom-like but the Martin now re-strung with a slightly used set of BelCantos (switched the Flex 92s with the Bel's on the Hart), the Bass sounds bigger and better than ever.

Last night I played them both again, the Martini and the Gamba. This is a tough choice. For big bottom orchestra or fat jazz pizz, the Gamba wins. For solo and sweet tone but still with more volume than the average bass, the Martini wins.

I noticed something a bit strange but good at the ISB. Someone was playing the Gamba and it was huge, shaking the floor and walls. Then while that was going on, someone else took the Martini off the stand and started playing it. These were all good orchestra players here, no beginners. The sound of the Martini cut right thru the middle and top of the Gamba like a hot knife thru a pound of butter. I was very surprised but in a happy way. The Martini being just about the most comfortable bass to play within the group I have now.

All this will change in a year or so when the Storioni is out of restoration. That Bass has the power, depth, sweetness and playability of all the basses combined. Some say the Gamba sounds like the Storioni on steroids but they haven't heard the Storioni restored yet, nor has anyone.

For now, I will keep my practice on the Martini since I am more used to it. The Gamba will go out when I think it fits the job. For upper solo work within the Orchestra rep, I'm not ready for it on the Gamba. The reach over the shoulders are a bit more than I'm used to and intonation is not an option!

One other thing I noticed is how different the basses sound sometimes when various people play them. This is the puzzling factor. How do I sound between all the basses? Which Bass do I play the best and with enough volume as well? Listening to the Martini in comparison to the Gilkes, Hart and Gamba is almost unfair as these are not your average sounding basses at all. They have always made me think less of the Martini when comparing. That is over now. The Martini can hold it's own as I've heard it cut thru the Gamba. That's enough proof for me right there.

So, Big Ben will have its time when the setting is just right. I would love to use it in a rhythm section. It just kills with the Evah's on there now. Next string change might be Evah Weichs which I had on it before but didn't have an Extension E/C. I heard they are available now so it's on the menu, some day..